Five Years. First Room.
A postcard from Copenhagen
Last week I visited Copenhagen and had my first internet-friend meet-up.
I got there in the morning and made my way to the Black Diamond, one of my favorite libraries in the world. Stunning architecture, pin-drop silence in the reading room, and gorgeous views of the Copenhagen Harbour.
I got three hours of deep work in — arguably the most productive I’d been in weeks. Then I walked through Kongens Hove and sat in the sun for almost an hour. By 7pm I was at one of my new favorite burger joints in the city and met up with Anant Agrawal.
Anant and I connected through Act Two late last year. Our projects were completely different, but we shared common ground through our love for writing.
Before leaving home for Copenhagen, a part of me wondered: How will the conversation go? Do we have enough in common? What if we just don’t get along?
However, within the first few minutes, every doubt I had in mind disappeared.
Anant asked me questions I hadn’t thought about, or been asked, in a very long time. What it felt like to walk away from medicine into the vast unknown of building something on the internet. How I managed to find a path and process that felt true to who I am. What’s it like running a lean solo creative business, especially when nobody’s done it the exact same way before.
I knew all of this. I’ve lived it. However, I never stopped to reconcile how transformative this chapter of my life has been. Having someone else see it, understand the grind, and even take some inspiration from it, was so damn special.
I made my way back to Malmö with my phone out, jotting down all the sparks from our conversation before they slipped away.
I have readers across the world. Clients I’ve never met in person. People who find my words every single week. After close to five years of writing online, this was the first time any of it belonged in a room rather than just over the internet.
In The Cost of Becoming Yourself, I wrote about the appreciation I have for Malmö. The anonymity is sacred and helped me build things on my own terms.
That’s still true.
But somewhere along the way, I stopped questioning the anonymity.
You are undoubtedly the byproduct of your environment — friends, loved ones, books you read, conversations you have, and the ideas you surround yourself with. I’ve always known this. But what I learned last week is that an environment isn’t just where you live, but rather what you deliberately choose to let in.
Maybe my city isn’t a creator hub, and that won’t change. But maybe I don’t need to be anonymous here by choice anymore. Maybe I need to seek out more of these moments and conversations instead of being satisfied with the way things have been.
That can happen anywhere and it can definitely happen more often. I’ve just not allowed it to happen.
There will be more Wednesdays like that one. I’m already planning my first solo trip to Germany to visit some of my closest internet and med school friends. I used to avoid experiences like this, but now, I can’t wait to make them happen.
Talk soon,
Pranav
P.S. if you’re based in Hamburg, Cologne, Heidelberg, or Berlin, get in touch!